12 Burning Questions For WWE Raw (April 18th)
5. Can Reigns Elicit Any Cheers?
He might not be a good guy or a bad guy (according to him), but Roman Reigns sure elicits a reaction from fans that makes it look like he’s one of those guys. Some have compared the new WWE World Heavyweight Champion to John Cena in terms of being a “good guy” who has young fans cheering him and smarter fans booing, but that argument falls apart in seconds.
Cena gets big reactions on both sides of the equation, and he sells a ton of merchandise. Reigns’ crowd reactions are more like 70/30 negative (and that might be a little generous), and you don’t see thousands wearing his T-shirts in the crowd. Fans didn’t tune in in huge numbers during his big build to WrestleMania. While a good in-ring performer, Reigns isn’t on Cena’s level, as his United States Championship run last year showed.
None of that is meant to be disparaging toward Roman. It’s meant to simply explain that he isn’t John Cena Jr. He’s Roman Reigns. And he isn’t getting the really strong reaction you’d think they guy who finally beat the Authority would get. If WWE is intent on him being the next face of the company, then can he win over the fans? Or will the company have to go back to the drawing board soon?